New Overwatch heroes Echo and Sojourn announced at BlizzCon 2019
BlizzCon 2019 has started off with a bang for Overwatch fans with a ton of new content, including two brand new heroes.
Speculation on who the next Overwatch hero could be started almost as soon as Sigma was released in July of 2019.
There were rumors it could’ve been Mauga from Baptiste’s short story, Sojourn – who was featured in the Storm Rising cinematic – or Echo, based on leaks of new Overwatch art ahead of BlizzCon.
The art was posted to Blizzard’s official Gear Store.A report from Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau and ESPN on the last Sunday in October said a new hero would be announced at BlizzCon and with the arrival of Echo it seems they were right.
The last time Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan talked about an upcoming new hero at length was when he explained why Sigma, and not Mauga was hero 31 during a stream with Brandon ‘Seagull’ Larned.
That hasn’t stopped speculation from running wild though and hints about the identities of both new heroes started leaked out the week before BlizzCon 2019.
Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan confirmed that Sojourn, who was introduced during the Storm Rising event, would be a new hero coming to the game, but didn’t say anything else on when it would happen.
Sojourn seems to be a DPS hero based on the Overwatch 2 gameplay trailer, with a weapon that seems to be a mix of Soldier 76’s and Zarya’s weapons from the limited shots we see of her.
Echo also appeared in the Overwatch 2 cinematic and in the gameplay trailer, but Kaplan didn’t mention the blue and white robot during his time on stage.
If she’s in the trailers though, it’s a good bet that Echo will be coming to Overwatch, or whatever we’re calling it now, sometime soon.
Overwatch 2 arrives at BlizzCon
The game’s title screen was shown off as part of the “Zero Hour” Cinematic which premiered during the BlizzCon opening ceremony.
Unlike the first installment, Overwatch 2 will have hero talents and character progression with individual levels. These “talents”, which are unlocked as the player levels up, boost the power of each hero’s standard abilities.
New maps and a new PvP game mode called “Push” were also introduced at BlizzCon, and are available to play for those lucky enough to be on the ground at the convention.